Rabu, 29 Desember 2010

Archos 70 available now for $350, sports 250GB hard drive, Android 2.2


Posted on Wednesday, Dec 29, 2010 by Phil Nickinson

Archos 70 Android tablet

Archos today announced a monster of an Android tablet -- the Archos 70. It's available now, and these specs are, shall we say, fairly monstrous.

  • Android 2.2
  • 250-gigabyte hard drive
  • Processor: ARM Cortex A8 @ 1 GHz
  • 7-inch TFT LCD display at 800x480
  • Wifi
  • Dimensions: 7.91x4.49x0.55 inches
  • Weight: 14 ounces
  • 720p video playback

We say fairly monstrous because that screen resolution is a bit disappointing. But being able to dual boot into Linux, Meego or Windows is pretty awesome. Also pretty awesome: A price tag of $350. Got a feeling we know a few people who are going to pick this one up, and we're definitely going to check this out next week at CES. More info's at the source link, and the full presser's after the break. [Archos]

ARCHOS 70 Internet Tablet, the First Android Tablet with 250GB HDD
ARCHOS 70 internet tablet, the first android tablet with a 250GB HDD, will be on display January 6 – 9, 2011 at CES 2011,
Las Vegas Convention Center - South Hall 2 Booth # 26425

Denver, Colorado – December 29, 2010 – ARCHOS, an award winning technology innovator and leader in the portable media player, market today announced the availability of the ARCHOS 70 internet tablet, 250GB version in retail stores. The ARCHOS 70 internet tablet, 250GB version offers a unique over-molded PVD stainless steel structured slim and light design. It also features the latest technology high res capacitive touch screen, a powerful 1 GHz processor and high speed WiFi that allows PC like web-surfing. Although the tablet sports 250GB, it is still the slimmest and the lightest (7.91 x 4.49 x 0.55 inch – 14 oz) on the market and is now available for $349.99 MSRP at ARCHOS.com

The ARCHOS 70 internet tablet - 250GB is a connected mobile device with a sublime user interface, 3D Graphics accelerator and Wi-Fi connectivity. With Android™ Froyo compatibility as the user interface, this tablet comes with a full pack of connected apps such as a web browser and email application, flash 10.1, HDMI output connectivity, tethering via your mobile phone and home streaming from your PC capability.

“We are proud to be the first to release an android tablet that features a 250GB HDD” says Henri Crohas, CEO and Founder. “We strive to be the leader in the Android and Windows based tablet market by creating award-winning innovative options at affordable prices.”
Connected Android™ tablet

As a Hi-def multimedia tablet, users will experience:
• A huge storage capacity to store up to 250 movies
• A full multimedia experience, with 720p HD video playback
• Built-in web cam for chatting with friends and family
• With the HDMI output function, you can view the full Android interface on your TV in High Definition, including all the apps, not only video playback like other tablets on the market
• Play 3D games from your TV and use your tablet as the steering-wheel/control
• Unique Android Multimedia applications designed by ARCHOS such as:
o Movie information and cover retrieval in video file info dialog
o 3D animated photo frame with ability to display pictures from Facebook, Flickr and Picassa directly through WiFi
o Music cover carrousel allows quick browsing of your music album covers
• A lot of applications with Appslib to fit your lifestyle including games, books, music, social media, recipes, news and sports

This latest tablet is from a long line of ultra affordable and ultra portable internet, multimedia, wide screen and super-fast tablets released by ARCHOS. In 2010, ARCHOS released a 10.1 ‘’ tablet with capacitive touch screen. As a connected android device it offers a very fast web browsing and HD multimedia experience from a 10.1” high resolution screen. The rest of the line up includes Android based tablets ranging in size from 2.8” to the 10.1“.

For more information about the ARCHOS 70 internet tablet and other ARCHOS products visit www.ARCHOS.com

Selasa, 28 Desember 2010

New device renders show off the Motorola Cliq 2


Posted on Tuesday, Dec 28, 2010 by Chris Parsons

Fans of the Motorola Cliq (there are a few, I know it!) now have something to look forward to if you were wondering if there ever would be a second generation of the device. New renders have popped up showing off the Motorola Cliq 2, which is expected to launch at CES with a release shortly after. The device itself doesn't stray too far off from the original when it comes to specs, meaning it's nice but nothing to write home about:

  • Full QWERTY slide out keyboard
  • 5MP camera with LED Flash
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
  • Wi-Fi B/G/N
  • aGPS

It's also been mentioned that Wi-Fi calling may be in the cards as well as a new version of MotoBlur to run it all. No confirmation on what Android OS it will be running, but if we had to take a guess, we'd give it FroYo out the gates with an update possible later. That "Honeycomb" keyboard is rather misleading, we think. [CellPhoneSignal]

iPad (2nd generation) Case Check

Second generation iPad cases seen on video?

By: Andrew Munchbach | Dec 28th, 2010 at 09:29AM
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Filed Under: Rumors, Tablets

Here’s a little additional fodder for the iPad 2 rumor mill. Japanese blog Macotakara has posted a nearly three-minute video showcasing what are — purportedly — third-party cases for Apple’s second generation iPad. Previously, the same blog leaked images of what they were claiming was the exterior casing of the new device. The iPad 2 is expected to launch sometime in 2011 with the exact release date ranging anywhere from February to July — depending on which analyst’s opinion you fancy. Hit the jump to check out the aforementioned video.

Next Apple iPad to offer both UMTS and CDMA connectivity options, less reflective screen?


By: Jonathan S. Geller | Dec 28th, 2010 at 08:21AM
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Filed Under: Rumors, Tablets

Another round from DigiTimes:

Apple is expected to release three versions of iPad 2, supporting either or a combination of Wi-Fi, UMTS and CDMA, for 2011 with mass production to start as early as the later half of January.

If DigiTimes’ sources are correct, this would mean there will not be a single iPad that runs on UMTS or CDMA networks, rather two different models, countering what most people believed based on prior rumors and speculation. The report claims that Apple will be set to ship over half a million iPad two units next month while they start mass production on them. That information signals in our opinion a late February / early March release. In addition to the rumored support of CDMA, it also appears Apple isn’t giving up on its screen technology as it is rumored to be working on better anti-smudge and anti-glare options for iPad displays. Let’s recap the most solid iPad 2 rumors so far:

  • Slightly thinner bezel
  • Slightly thinner body, tapered edges, flat back
  • Front and rear cameras
  • Better anti-smudge and anti-glare screen
  • Possibly a dual core 1GHz CPU
  • 512MB of RAM
  • Redesigned rear speaker, volume buttons
  • Verizon CDMA unit
Anyone getting excited out there?

Just got a BlackBerry? The best apps, accessories, and tips

Just got an Android phone? The best apps, accessories, and tips

Taking a smartphone out of the box for the first time can elicit a wide spectrum of emotions, starting with unadulterated excitement that can quickly devolve into panic, chaos, and confusion: what do you do now? How do you make it awesome? How do you emanate an air of "cool" on the subway by using apps specifically designed to make you look like a badass? Well, fear not, newly-minted Android smartphone owner: as always, we've got your back. Read on for all the apps, accessories, and tips you should be investigating right this very second.

Great apps


LauncherPro (free). If you don't like the skin on your phone (we're looking right at you, Motorola owners) and you're not stoked about rooting, there's really nothing better you can do than download LauncherPro right now. This ultra-flexible home screen replacement lets you choose how many panels you'd like to see, the style of the app drawer, permanent icons for commonly-used apps, and everything in between; even if you're using a stock Android device, it's definitely worth a look. Oh, and the basic version is free.

Widgetsoid (free). You know that Power Control widget that Android includes? It's pretty handy for doing things like disabling Bluetooth when you're not using it -- but really, how often do you need to turn off account sync or automatic brightness control? Not very often... and that's where Widgetsoid comes into play. Basically, it lets you configure the heck out of home screen widgets that look completely stock but can include dozens of different toggles for managing various aspects of your phone like airplane, WiFi tethering, and so on.

TweetDeck (free). The official Twitter app isn't bad, especially since it's got native contact integration... but it's got a couple fatal flaws: it doesn't support multiple accounts, and notifications seem to be inconsistent at best. Fortunately, the Android version of TweetDeck stays true to the software's desktop and iPhone formula, offering multiple filtered "columns" of tweets, each of which can be configured individually for notifications and refresh times. It also supports Buzz, Facebook, and Foursquare accounts -- and since it's free, it's worth a shot.

Astrid (free, $4.99 with Power Pack). Most days, we've got exactly one item on our task list: "break news." For you, though, the story might be different. While it doesn't have the simplest or cleanest UI in the world, Astrid is an amazingly powerful to-do manager that can sync with Google Tasks and Remember The Milk; buying the $5 Power Pack adds some neat extra capabilities like unlimited alarms set to go off at times of your choosing (this used to be a free feature, but considering how many times Astrid has saved our butts, the one-time $5 outlay seems justified).

Pandora (free). We wanted to recommend one of the $10 / month unlimited download services like Rhapsody or Rdio, but frankly, they're not ready yet -- every one we've used on Android has been buggy, unintuitive, and generally opposed to letting you enjoy your music trouble-free. Pandora, meanwhile, is free, stable, and slick. Granted, you won't be able to listen to stations offline -- but for pulling some fresh tunes into the tired aural repertoire you've got stored on your phone's microSD card, there's really no easier way to do it.

Audiogalaxy (free). If you prefer to take your own tunes on the go, and either don't have enough space or enough time to bother syncing the entire collection constantly, Audiogalaxy give you access to your entire collection, no matter where you are. There's almost no configuration required, install the desktop app on your PC or Mac and the free mobile app on your phone and it will stream the entire library -- playlists, album art, Last.fm scrobbling and all -- at your request. There are other ways to stream your library from one place to another, but none are this simple.
Swype (free). Can't find it in the Android Market? No worries -- you need to go directly through the company's website to register for the beta version -- but trust us, it's worth it. Swype is one of the more innovative touchscreen input methods to pop up in the last several years, and it's not different just for the sake of being different: for many users, it's actually a good deal quicker than a standard virtual keyboard. Basically, you drag a line between letters in each word, and the software figures out what you're trying to type -- a little bit like connecting the dots -- and it's amazingly accurate most of the time. It's so good, in fact, that many manufacturers have started bundling it in ROM -- but if you don't have it, you can grab it.

SwiftKey (free trial, $3.99 full). Okay, so maybe Swype isn't your bag; we know it's not for everyone. Another option is SwiftKey, which moves beyond the concept of predictive text and actually tries to predict entire phrases -- and it does so surprising accuracy that becomes even more accurate as you use it.

WorldMate (free). If you picked an Android phone over pretty much any other mobile OS, chances are you did so at least in part due to having Google Maps Navigation on board. We're taking a little liberty in deeming you an argonaut, but if you're even a casual traveler, you owe it to yourself to pick up WorldMate. All the buzz is on TripIt, but we tend to prefer WorldMate's UI. There hasn't been a confirmation email yet that it didn't like, and it intelligently updates both your app and web profile immediately. Notifications are also spot-on, and if you have two confirmation numbers for a single flight (read: you and your gal / dude are flying on the same bird, but booked via different avenues), it'll properly sort that as well. The only problem? It looks awful when empty, so get to planning!

Angry Birds (free) and Angry Birds Seasons (also free). If you don't know what Angry Birds is by now, well... we're not entirely sure we believe you. Be that as it may, this is a must-have game for virtually any smartphone that serves up levels in bite-size pieces that are perfect for the odd free moment in your hectic schedule here and there. And trust us, you'll fall in love with the evil pigs.

Engadget (free). Frankly, your phone is little more than a paperweight until you get this titan of the Android Market installed.

Great accessories


Extended battery. One of the problems of owning a great smartphone (if you can really call it a problem) is that you're going to be using it all the time. Trust us: literally all the time. That means that for most models, there'll be days where you just barely squeeze by before your battery gives up the ghost -- and let's be honest, getting stuck anywhere but home without a working phone is a scary thought indeed. One option is to hook up with a third-party battery vendor like Seidio, which makes extended batteries for a wide variety of models -- and some of them even fit in your existing battery cover without adding thickness. An extra half-hour or hour of run time might not sound like much, but try saying that to yourself as your depleted phone starts powering down.

Good headphones. The headphones that are often bundled with devices are widely known to be total garbage -- sure, they're fine for taking the occasional hands-free call, but trying to enjoy music on 'em is usually an exercise in futility. Spend less than $100 on a set like Etymotic's ER6i or Shure's SE115 and your ears will thank you for years to come.

Big (and fast) microSD card. Odds are your phone comes bundled with a microSD card of somewhere between 2 and 16GB. If you're on the high end of that spectrum, you might find that it's enough storage for you -- and manufacturers sometimes do a good job of including high-quality, high-speed cards -- but if you need more, invest in a name-brand card with the highest Class rating you can find. That 32GB Class 2 card might be calling your name, but beware that performing a DoubleTwist sync for the first time on a card that large (and slow) can take several hours to complete.

Tips and tricks


  • Some people prefer old-school drag-and-drop music management, which is a piece of cake with Android -- but if you want something more akin to iTunes, give DoubleTwist a try.
  • Looking to install apps from somewhere other than the Android Market? Swype, Citibank, EA, and many others require that you go outside Android's official app store, but by default, you're not allowed to. To change that, go to Settings, choose Applications, and check the "Unknown sources" box. If your phone has that setting disabled (AT&T models, for example), we recommend trying Android Central's Sideload Wonder Machine.
  • In many screens, pressing and holding your phone's Menu key will call up the virtual keyboard, allowing you to access shortcuts that are usually reserved for phones with physical keyboards. They won't all work, but some do (try "c" while in Gmail for composing a new email, for instance).
  • Press and hold the Search button to bring up Android's Voice Actions system, which allows you to do all sorts of neat stuff with natural voice commands.
  • If you want to dispense of that extra step of unlocking your screen when you bring your phone out of sleep, try NoLock (free) in the Android Market -- it doesn't work on every device, but it's worth a shot.

Just got an iPad? The best apps, accessories, and tips


So, Santa stuffed an iPad into your stocking on Christmas (insert mythical figure / appropriate receptacle / holiday of choice), and you're wondering what to do with the thing? First of all, congratulations! The iPad can be a wonderful, loyal companion and friend, but it can also take a while to warm up to. As we always say, a device is only as good as its apps, both literally and figuratively: it'll take some time to figure out what you want to get from the iTunes Store that will flesh out your experience, but it will also take some time to see which nooks and crannies of your life the iPad can fill, and what roles you'll want it to take over from your laptop and phone. Follow along after the break as we show you how to wring the most out of your shiny new tablet.

iPad apps


Entertainment

Netflix (free). We've probably spent more time watching Netflix than doing anything else on the iPad. The app is free, the service is cheap, and the content is plentiful. The UI isn't as elegant as some of the other apps, but it's what's on the queue that counts.

Hulu+ (free). Another free app, another paid service. Unlike Netflix, Hulu+ has some ads, and it's tough to swallow paying for stuff you might get for free in your web browser, but that doesn't seem to be stopping anybody -- video and the iPad were just meant to be.

Kindle (free). There are plenty of e-book services, all of them with competent iPad apps, but Kindle is our favorite. It syncs beautifully between iPhone, Kindle, iPad, and any other device you might think of, and has a very simple, fast UI.

Zinio (free). Zinio is to magazines what Kindle is to books. Instead of trying something ultra fancy and "magazine 2.0"-ey, Zinio just takes the original magazine layouts and presents them in a simple iPad view. There are free preview articles to get your feet wet, and the magazines themselves cost about the same as print subscriptions and off-the-rack copies will cost you.

Engadget (free). It's free, and it's Engadget. What more do you need to know?

Productivity

Pages ($9.99). This is the MS Word of the iPad. We wish it was a bit smarter about accessing your files (Google Docs sync, anyone?), but the great UI and surprisingly deep feature set makes it the de facto document editor for the tablet.

GoodReader ($2.99). GoodReader works as the bridge between your iPad and wherever you might've stashed your documents online. You can set it up to sync from Google Docs, MobileMe, Dropbox and more, and it has great formatting and annotating abilities for reading and marking up your PDFs or .docs.

Dropbox (free). Dropbox builds its own app for getting files on and off the cloud, and it's very good as well. You lose a bit in functionality, in comparison to GoodReader, but you gain a vastly simpler interface.

Twitter (free). This shouldn't need any explanation, but kudos to Twitter for creating a beautiful and functional #iPadapp.

Adobe Ideas (free). There are plenty of great drawing apps for the iPad (Brushes, Art Studio, and SketchBook come to mind), but Adobe Ideas is free, simple, and very pretty to look at.

Music

Beatwave (free). There are lots of ways to create beats and loops on the iPad, but Beatwave is just fun. It's free as well, though you can pay to unlock further functionality.

Virtuoso (free). Another free gem, Virtuoso is a piano. You get two rows of keys, and you can either use them both yourself (one set as the bass octaves, one for the treble, for instance), or you can flip one row around for use by a friend. "Heart and Soul," here you come!

KORG iMS-20 ($15.99). Want to make some serious music? This synth studio isn't cheap, but it's chock full of "real" equipment to truly go wild with noise and beat creation.

StudioTrack ($39.99). There are plenty of ways to make music with the iPad, but you can record music as well. StudioTrack is a full-on multitrack recorder with a price to match, complete with effects chains and in-depth mixing. It's perfect for "sketching" out song ideas -- with instruments you play on your iPhone, naturally.

Games

Rage HD ($1.99). It's a tough match between Epic's Infinity Blade and id's Rage HD when it comes to best iOS graphics, but Rage HD is the clear winner when it comes to playability on the iPad. It's an on-rails shooter, but has the frantic movement and shooting of a full-on FPS, and on the iPad's large screen it's easy to get immersed.

Solipskier ($0.99). Don't play this game. It will consume you. Your family will never see you again, and you will dream only in ski-slope rainbows.

Zombie Infection HD ($0.99). This is a straight-up ripoff of Resident Evil, but Gameloft creates great ripoffs, and this game is no exception.

Flight Control HD ($4.99). Looking for something a bit more relaxing? Flight Control HD is the Pina Colada of iPad games, with a simple mechanic of drawing lines and landing planes. You can go head to head against a friend on your iPad, or play iPad vs. iPad over WiFi.

Real Racing HD ($9.99). Real Racing HD was one of our favorite games when the iPad was first launched, and it's still great. There's something about the fact that the iPad is about the size of a steering wheel that makes racing games just feel great on the iPad, and this one's the king. However, Real Racing 2 just hit the iPhone, complete with licensed cars and better graphics, so if you're patient you might wait for that version to show up on the iPad as well.

Scrabble ($0.99). If you've got an iPhone and all your friends do too, there's only one thing left to do: play Scrabble. You get a "Tile Rack" app for each phone, and the actual Scrabble app for the iPad, and proceed to play the world's most decadent game of Scrabble.

iPad cases and accessories


Dodocase ($59.95). There are two main categories of iPad cases, and the one you'll choose depends on how you see the device: is it a reading tablet, or is it an everything else tablet? The Dodocase is the perfect example of the former, ensconching your iPad in a handcrafted Moleskine-style book.

Incase Convertible Magazine Jacket ($49.95). This case is more of the latter, taking cues from Apple's own iPad case but adding extra flexibility. It's perfect for propping the iPad up into a typing position, or protecting it from the elements. Just don't expect to impress any of your fellow hipster coffee shop campers.

Apple Keyboard Dock ($69). If you're using the iPad for writing, this dock is pretty much a must. It obviously only allows your iPad to stand vertically, but that makes the most sense for typing anyway. If you want a bit more flexibility, you can buy the iPad dock alone ($29), sans keyboard, and provide your own Bluetooth keyboard.

Pogo Stylus ($14.95). Don't expect this to turn you into Rembrandt, but if you find yourself spending a lot of time in the iPad's myriad quality drawing applications, it can't hurt.

Camera Connection Kit ($29). The iPad can't completely replace your computer (yet), but it can get pretty close with Apple's Camera Connection Kit. The two adapters let you plug in your camera's USB cable or SD card, respectively, allowing you to offload your pictures and upload them to Flickr or Facebook or wherever your heart takes you. New, unofficial kits are also emerging that combine both functions into one adapter.

Tips and tricks:


How to lock / unlock the screen rotation: In the beginning there was the orientation lock switch. And it was good. Now Apple has turned that switch into a mute switch and moved to a software lock. It's not the worst hassle, but it can be a major pain if you don't know where to find the software lock. Here's what you do: double tap the home button. That should pull up a list of recently used application (this is for fast switching between apps). You can swipe left to see even older apps, or swipe right to get a little control panel. On the left is the orientation lock / unlock button you were looking for, and there's also easy access to brightness and iPod controls.

Put Gmail on your iPad: Wait is there actually a Gmail app for the iPad? Yes and no. There's no native application, sadly, but Google has built a beautiful web UI for using Gmail on the iPad, and we recommend putting a bookmark on your home screen pronto. To add Gmail (or any website) to your homescreen, simply go to your Gmail in Safari, then tap the button directly to the left of your address bar (it's a box with an arrow coming out of it), then select the "Add to Home Screen" option. You'll get an option to name the application (we stuck with "Gmail), and then you just tap the "add" button and Safari will place the shortcut in with the rest of your iPad apps.

Getting files on and off: Sadly, one of the hardest things to do with the iPad is to put files on it. Then, once they're on, it's just as difficult to get them off. There's no file browser, like on a regular computer, and if you plug the iPad into your computer it doesn't show up as a hard drive, it just shows up in iTunes. No solution is one-size-fits-all, but here are a few of the ways we deal with this major shortcoming.
  • Email: Yeah, you probably thought of this already, but it's still one of the best ways to get stuff on the iPad. Just email an attached document to yourself, then open it up on the Mail app. You should get a nice thumbnail of the document, and then when you tap it, Mail will open its own preview of that document if it can. If you just wanted to view the file, that should be fine, but if you want to work on it, tap the button in the top right corner (the box with the arrow coming out of it) and you should get an option to open the file in the default application for that file type, along with an "open in..." button that lets you pick from any other applications you might have that will work with that file. After that it will be up to your application of choice how it deals with the file. If you get stuck you can always go back to the Mail app, where the original document will be waiting for you, untouched.
  • iTunes: It's surprisingly easy to miss, but Apple actual built some minor file management features into iTunes. Once you plug your iPad into your computer and open iTunes, you get all sorts of tabs for managing your music and movies and everything else on your device. The "apps" tab allows you to arrange applications and remove them from your device, but if you scroll down you get a "file sharing" list of applications that can give and receive documents. You simply click on the application you'd like to share a file with, tap "add," and upload a file from your computer. Similarly you can select files already on your iPad and save them to your computer from this interface.
  • GoodReader: There are other applications that sync files to the "cloud," but GoodReader is our favorite. You simply set it up with your Google Docs, Dropbox, MobileMe or even email account, and you can download files straight to your device and view them from within GoodReader. GoodReader also has an "Open in..." functionality for viewing and editing your files in other applications. You can sort your files into folders, download files off of websites, and connect to local servers over WiFi if you're really desperate for the digital good stuff.
  • Dropbox: If you're a Dropbox user, this is by far the simplest solution, providing a simple view of your online files, a lightweight viewer, and an quick shortcut to opening files in other applications.If you're not a Dropbox user, this won't do you much good.
So, that's it from us, but if you've got your own favorite apps, accessories, and trick for the iPad, please sound off in the comments below!